Before dinner in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, my friend Ingrid and I visited the Cathedral. In place of the usual gold and silver plated backdrop to the altar hung a large black cross. Words describing human suffering had been engraved on it: famine, terror, cancer, flood, fire, grief, pain and many others. I stoodContinue reading “Holy hens”
Author Archives: kateking48
Stand still
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside youAre not lost. Wherever you are is called Here We left for Moissac early in the morning, keen to find a cafe and some substantial food after a skeletal dinner the night before. When we lifted our eyes from the asphalt we saw pink and white appleContinue reading “Stand still”
Walking into Silence
We are forever writing our inner commentaries on everything, commentaries that always reach the same practiced conclusions In the beginning of my walks silence only broke through in patches. Although the forests and fields were free of human noise my own thoughts and worries still crowded in. Most of my thinking in the early stagesContinue reading “Walking into Silence”
Solitude and Loneliness
The dynamic of loneliness is resistance (something is wrong here), whereas the dynamic of solitude is acceptance As I walked the first day from Le Puy-en-Velay in 2018, I remembered solitude. Sarah Bachelard makes a key distinction between solitude and loneliness: “The dynamic of loneliness is resistance (something is wrong here), whereas the dynamic ofContinue reading “Solitude and Loneliness”
Gratitude
It is through surprise our inner eyes are opened to the amazing fact that everything is gratuitous, given freely with no expected return. I am grateful to have had the time and resources to walk across France and Spain. Every day on pilgrimage is a gift, not always appreciated at the time. Thousands, if notContinue reading “Gratitude”
Thin places
What the Celts call a thin place: a powerful place where the veil between heaven and earth thins It wasn’t far through the fog from Foncebaden to the Cruz de Ferro on the Camino Frances in 2016. The remains of stone cottages littered the fields. At that altitude the grass was only just appearing afterContinue reading “Thin places”
Effort and grace
Effort readies us for grace, as grace can never be planned for or willed to appear, only entered Stillness is illuminated by movement. I discovered that the more strenuous the movement the greater the sensation of stillness when I paused. Pausing after walking, and especially after climbing, allowed me to truly see what was beforeContinue reading “Effort and grace”
Stilled again
Yet sometimes it’s only through extended stillness or exhaustion that we finally stop and go clear like water. When stilled of all that stirs us, we can see what is life-giving. The huge dorm behind the cathedral in Conques, France, was reminiscent of many of the Spanish albergues and monasteries on the Camino Frances. ManyContinue reading “Stilled again”
The journal page
The journal is a place of discovery, of learning, of emotional relief and insight On the second day of my Chemin from Le Puy en Velay I walked through an intoxicating sweet-scented pine forest and the bell calls of little birds to Le lac d’Oeuf. On a log overlooking the lake, more a wetland, IContinue reading “The journal page”
Walking, listening, pausing
We practice presence so that we might cultivate our ability to really hear the voice of nature speaking to us This morning my pre-ordered copy of Christine Valter-Paintner’s new book “Earth, Our Original Monastery” arrived on my Kindle. In the very first chapter she advises getting out in nature, “simply walking, listening, and pausing”. OfContinue reading “Walking, listening, pausing”
Contemplative Camino 